Photo :

EN : Bats

FR : Chauves-souris

ES : Murciélagos

Bats is a mammal in the order Chiroptera.
Their most distinguishing feature is that their forelimbs are developed
as wings, making them the only mammals in the world naturally capable
of flight. There are estimated to be about 1,100 species of bats worldwide,
accounting for about 20 percent of all mammal species. About 70 percent
of bats are insectivores. Of the remainder, most feed on fruits and
their juices. Only three species sustain themselves with blood, some
preying on vertebrates: these include the leaf-nosed bats of Central
America and South America, and the two bulldog bat species, which feed
on fish. At least two known species of bat are cannibalistic, feeding
on other bats: the Spectral Bat, also called the American False Vampire
bat, and the Ghost Bat of Australia.

By emitting high-pitched sounds and listening
to the echoes, also known as sonar, microbats locate prey
and other nearby objects. This is the process of echolocation, an ability
they share with dolphins and whales. Two groups of moths exploit the
bats' senses: tiger moths produce ultrasonic signals to warn the bats
that the moths are chemically-protected (aposematism) (this was once
thought to be a form of "radar jamming", but this theory has
been disproved); the moths Noctuidae have a hearing organ called a tympanum
which responds to an incoming bat signal by causing the moth's flight
muscles to twitch erratically, sending the moth into random evasive
manoeuvres. Although the eyes of most microbat species are small and
poorly developed, leading to poor visual acuity, it is incorrect to
assume that they are nearly blind. Vision is used as an aid in navigation
especially at long distances, beyond the range of echolocation. It has
even been discovered that some species are able to detect ultraviolet
light. Their senses of smell and hearing are excellent. The teeth of
microbats resemble those of the insectivorans. They are very sharp in
order to bite through the hardened armor of insects
or the skin of fruits.